Marvin Vettori put up an incredible performance against Jack Hermansson in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs Vettori via unanimous decision to announce his entry in the top-5 of the UFC middleweight division. With this win, Vettori is just short of a win to land a potential title opportunity at the 185-pound division.
Marvin Vettori became the first Italian fighter to main-event a UFC Fight Night after he accepted a short-notice fight against “The Joker” after Kevin Holland pulled out of the bout due to COVID-19. Hermansson was ranked #4 in the UFC’s middleweight division before taking the short-notice match-up against “The Italian Dream.”
It won’t be surprising to see Marvin Vettori in the top-5 of the division when the new rankings come out. Hermansson was coming off an incredible win over former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. It’s step-back for Hermansson, who was looking to land a potential title opportunity against Darren Till. However, after multiple fall-outs, Hermansson had multiple changes that might have caused a huge change in how he was approaching the fight initially. Be that as it may, Vettori was certainly the better fighter tonight and looked absolutely incredible against a seasoned veteran like Hermansson.
What’s next for Marvin Vettori?
Soon after the win, Vettori called out former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa for a scrap inside the Octagon. Borrachina is coming off his first loss inside the Octagon against the undisputed champion of the world Israel Adesanya. Vettori has not lost a single bout ever since his controversial split decision loss over Israel Adesanya. Should Vettori get another win, there’s a reason to believe that a potential rematch could be on the cards. Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker is currently ranked #1 in the division and is set to fight for the championship gold next.
It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for the Italian fighter who has finally made it to the top after years with the company and some incredible performances to his name. There’s a reason to believe that he could take on Jared Cannonier next, who is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Robert Whittaker.